EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Nets
erased an 18-point deficit, then gave away an 18-point lead --
and perhaps their season with it.

New Jersey blew a huge lead in the final seven minutes and
suffered a crushing 112-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets, who got
a follow shot from former Net Chris Gatling with 0.5 seconds
left.

After trailing by 18 points midway through the first quarter,
the Nets sped past the Nuggets and opened a 99-81 advantage with
8:36 to play. They still held a 101-84 bulge with 7:07 to go
before a barrage of 3-pointers got the Nuggets back in the game.

Gatling, a New Jersey native who scored 20 points off the bench,
was huge in the final minute. He put in a follow shot and was
fouled, with the free throw giving Denver a 110-108 lead with 56
seconds left. The teams traded possessions before Scott Burrell
put back a miss by Stephon Marbury to tie it with 6.5 seconds
left.

"He (Gatling) told us he was the mayor of East Rutherford, New
Jersey, so I thought the last shot should go to the mayor,"
Nuggets coach Dan Issel said. "As a matter of fact, I think he
told us he was the mayor of New Jersey, so that tells us how
smart he is."

The Nuggets inbounded to Gatling, who rolled into the lane and
fired a hook that missed. George McCloud -- another former Net
-- slapped the rebound off the backboard right to Gatling, who
put in a layup with a half-second to go.

"We wanted Gat to pin down in the post and execute, but when
that didn't happen, George did great job of keeping the ball in
play," Issel said.

"I was trying to get inside with Johnny Newman coming over my
back," McCloud said. "I tipped it up against the backboard and
Gat came in and made things happen."

Denver's Keon Clark kicked away the inbounds pass, sending the
Nets (29-40) to their third straight loss -- and perhaps back to
the draft lottery. New Jersey is five games out of the Eastern
Conference's final postseason berth with 13 to play, nine of
them against prospective playoff teams.

"We had no defense and we played terribly at key times," Nets
coach Don Casey said. "We had guys moping. This was a killer
game for us. I really have no answer. They let everyone down,
everyone went into a vacuum. We couldn't handle the pressure
and the results speak for themselves. It seems like we can stop
mentioning the playoffs now."

Although the loss came to a team which came in with a 6-28 road
record and nine straight losses away from home, some of Casey's
players disagreed.

"I don't think we're out yet," said Burrell, who scored 13
points off the bench. "It ain't over yet. Injuries happen and
streaks happen. Anything can happen. We play Orlando and
(ninth-place) Milwaukee again and we'll be ready."

"Anything can happen," said Nets guard Kerry Kittles, who scored
18 points. "We still have time left. Teams can lose and teams
can put on a winning streak. Anything can happen. We have to
really want it inside."

Nets forward Keith Van Horn, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds,
also had the best perspective.

"I don't think this loss eliminates us," he said. "It hurts us
tremendously, though. That's the strangest thing about it. We
still have a chance. We have to go out and realize that."

Newman scored 20 points off the bench and Marbury added 16 and
11 assists for the Nets, who were coming off a 116-115 home
overtime loss to Minnesota on Friday. They allowed Denver its
first win in New Jersey since February 17, 1990, a span of nine
losses.

Nick Van Exel had 28 points and 12 assists for the Nuggets, who
ended a four-game losing streak and staved off elimination from
the Western Conference playoff race. One more loss sends Denver
to the lottery for the fifth straight year.

Raef LaFrentz had 22 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks, Posey
scored 21 points and McCloud added 15. Posey, McCloud and Van
Exel each made two 3-pointers in a 23-5 surge, turning a
17-point deficit into a 107-106 lead on Posey's 3-pointer with
2:10 remaining. Denver was 10-of-23 from behind the arc.

"It was a situation where we got momentum and started making
shots," McCloud said. "Our confidence was like a domino effect.
We really moved the ball and got a lot of different guys
involved."

Marbury made two free throws 18 seconds later and the teams
traded empty possessions before Gatling's three-point play.

Van Exel came out scorching. He scored 14 points in the first 7
1/2 minutes and Gatling added five after replacing foul-prone
Antonio McDyess as Denver raced to a 31-13 lead with 4:02 left
in the opening quarter.

The Nets closed to 37-27 after one period and 60-56 at halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, they took control with a 17-6
spurt that featured six points by Kittles and a 3-pointer by Van
Horn for an 83-73 lead with 1:21 remaining.

Burrell drilled a pair of 3-pointers and rookie Evan Eschmeyer
scored five points in an 11-2 run that opened the final period
and gave New Jersey its largest lead at 97-79 with 9:25 to go.

McDyess, Denver's leading scorer, played just 14 minutes due to
an ankle injury. Neverthless, the Nuggets shot 50 percent
(44-of-88) from the field, made all 14 of their free throws and
held a 51-40 rebounding advantage.

Eschmeyer had a season-high nine points and eight boards for the
Nets, who shot 42.5 percent (37-of-87). New Jersey made 8-of-14
3-pointers and 28-of-33 free throws.